Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Aqua Real-Time CSPM is a commercial cloud security posture management tool by Aqua Security Software Ltd.. Cloud Custodian (c7n) is a free cloud security posture management tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best cloud security posture management fit for your security stack.
Based on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Mid-market and enterprise teams managing AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud simultaneously will get the most from Aqua Real-Time CSPM because its agentless scanning paired with in-workload visibility actually catches misconfigurations that surface-level inventory tools miss. The vendor's support for VMs, containers, serverless, and Kubernetes clusters across 30+ compliance frameworks means you're not rebuilding mappings for HIPAA one year and PCI the next. Skip this if your organization runs primarily on a single cloud or needs sophisticated identity and access governance; Aqua prioritizes configuration posture over the identity layer, leaving supply chain risk assessment to adjacent tools.
Platform engineering teams managing multi-cloud infrastructure at scale will get the most from Cloud Custodian because its YAML-based policy engine lets you write once and enforce across AWS, Azure, and GCP simultaneously, something most CSPM tools force you to configure separately. 5,794 GitHub stars and active community contributions mean you're inheriting battle-tested policies rather than starting from scratch. Not the right fit if you need point-and-click policy management or expect vendor support; Cloud Custodian demands engineering resources to deploy and maintain, and you're responsible for the policy logic.
Real-time CSPM for multi-cloud security risk identification and remediation
Cloud Custodian is a YAML-based rules engine that manages and enforces security, compliance, and cost optimization policies across AWS, Azure, and GCP cloud environments in real-time.
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Common questions about comparing Aqua Real-Time CSPM vs Cloud Custodian (c7n) for your cloud security posture management needs.
Aqua Real-Time CSPM: Real-time CSPM for multi-cloud security risk identification and remediation. built by Aqua Security Software Ltd.. Core capabilities include Real-time cloud security risk visibility across multi-cloud environments, Agentless scanning combined with in-workload visibility, Cloud resource discovery and unified inventory across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud..
Cloud Custodian (c7n): Cloud Custodian is a YAML-based rules engine that manages and enforces security, compliance, and cost optimization policies across AWS, Azure, and GCP cloud environments in real-time..
Both serve the Cloud Security Posture Management market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.
Aqua Real-Time CSPM is developed by Aqua Security Software Ltd.. Cloud Custodian (c7n) is open-source with 5,794 GitHub stars. Vendor maturity, funding stage, and team size can be important factors when evaluating long-term viability and support quality.
Aqua Real-Time CSPM and Cloud Custodian (c7n) serve similar Cloud Security Posture Management use cases: both are Cloud Security Posture Management tools, both cover Azure, GCP, AWS. Key differences: Aqua Real-Time CSPM is Commercial while Cloud Custodian (c7n) is Free, Cloud Custodian (c7n) is open-source. Review the feature comparison above to determine which fits your requirements.
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